OY/YO Necklace by Deb Kass

$285.00

$256.50 for Members

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Necklace based on Kass' OY/YO Sculpture (2015).

Sterling silver vermeil with 18-kt. gold finish

Pendant: 3/4" x 1/2"

Deborah Kass is a Brooklyn-based artist who has lived and worked the borough for more than fifteen years. She focuses on the intersections between identity, pop culture, and art history. Frequently giving her own spin to signature imagery by twentieth-century male artists, Kass created this bold sculpture in the spirit of Ed Ruscha’s word paintings, such asOOF, Milton Glaser’sI Love NYlogo, and Robert Indiana’sLOVEsculptures.

YO refers both to the Spanish pronoun for “I” and to an urban slang greeting, while OY is a common Yiddish word expressing dismay or annoyance. Kass conceivedOY/YOduring President Obama’s first term, and it was initially installed during his second term. She notes that the work is a product of our political time:

The American promise of equality and fairness was writ in the most diverse administration ever, working to make the country a better place for all. With hate and division now on the rise, it is urgent to see our commonalities, what we share, and what brings us together.

The artist’s first monumental sculpture,OY/YOwas originally installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park and later in Williamsburg. In Prospect Heights and neighboring Crown Heights,OY/YO takes on new meaning, as it speaks to the longstanding, complex, and ever-evolving social dynamics between Black, Latinx, and Jewish communities in the neighborhood. Its location on the plaza allows broad access, actively greeting and engaging visitors as they walk by, reading as YO from one direction and OY from the other.